Screen Printed HF RFID Antennas on Polyethylene Terephthalate Film

The performance of printed radio frequency identification (RFID) antennas is highly dependent on the electrical conductivity of the conducting tracks forming the antennas. In this paper, screen printed high frequency (HF) RFID antennas on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film are reported, with the focus on the optimization of the post-processing procedures for the improvement of the conductivity of the screen printed conductive tracks. The electrical conductivity of the printed conductive tracks is significantly affected by the ink post printing processing conditions. The results show that drying the ink at ambient temperature, followed by heat treatment provides the optimum conductivity. This treatment also offers the highest quality factors for the screen printed HF RFID antennas. It was also found that pre-drying at 60°C followed by heat treatment achieves similar results with less processing time. The findings provide a low cost solution for screen printing high performance HF RFID antennas on plastic films.